Takedowns to opera

Turn your body into a temple and nature starts talking to you. It brings you back to a wilder, more authentic state. Nature is not just a name to identify what we have not yet covered with concrete and asphalt. It is life lived without fear, without sense of guilt; life not enslaved by the artificial rules of a society which has lost it center. -Daniele Bolelli, On The Warrior’s Path

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This lunchtime in Bellevue we did ALL TAKEDOWNS- to opera music.

It was nice to see Carlos again; it's been a couple of weeks.

Double legs; shoulder throw (dropping to knees); Standing shoulder throw (a few grip variations), fireman's carry.

Note that you can start with judo grips, then use your lapel grip to pull opponent's lapel toward the distal, and feed it to your other hand as you turn- so that as you pick opponent up, you now have hir lapel wrapping hir bicep.

Also- with judo grips, you may be able to duck your head under opponent's straight arm to the outside. This is illegal in judo becaue it endangers opponent's elbow. Perfectly acceptable in BJJ. You can attack the arm, try to swoop to the back, or do one of several additional throw setups as soon as s/he has to let go with that hand.

Drills, then TAKEDOWN KING OF THE HILL. OMG. As I shook each big guy's hand, I said with mock seriousness (only I really *was* serious), "Don't kill me."  They were all careful.
Doug got a clean takedown on Prof. Carlos, then strode off the mat declaring "I'm gonna retire now!!!"  Daniel also got a clean throw on him, which was awesome to see- Daniel being a blue belt not much bigger than me.

We recieved a fingernail hygiene lecture today. Note: Do not tell the prof that you are leaving the mat to deal with a broken nail. He interprets this statement as "I am an inconsiderate jerk who didn't trim my too-long nails before getting on the mat".

This was a very exhausting class. I came in feeling fairly stiff from yesterday, and turned down Casey's offer to play balancing-circus-bear on the exercise ball so that I could get well stretched out before we began class. Allergies have also been troublesome the last few days- and by the time we started KOTH, I almost had to duck out because I had one of those ice-pick-in-the-temple headaches. I decided to try to stick it out... fortunately for me, it mostly went away by the end of class instead of getting worse. Messed with my concentration a bit, though. I didn't do so great in the KOTH.